Daejeon taco restaurant set for two: 4 tacos at Horse Taco Soje

Horse Taco Soje

As a self-proclaimed Daejeon lover, I especially love Soje-dong 🍃 It has that same emotional charm as Jeonpo or Hwangridan-gil, but it's not too crowded — there's still a quiet, old-town feeling that's unique to Soje-dong !!! So whenever I travel to Daejeon, Sungsimdang and Soje-dong are must-visits. This time, the moment I got off at Daejeon Station, I headed straight for Soje-dong 🤭 My destination that day was Horse Taco ♥ Let's get into the honest review -

Horse Taco Soje hours, closing day and parking

• 🕰️ Hours: Daily 11:30–20:00
• ✔️ Last order: 19:30
• ✔️ Closed every Monday
• 📍 Address: 74 Daedongcheonuan 5-gil, Dong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea, 1st floor
• 🅿️ Parking: No parking at the restaurant / Tip — parking available in front of the store, free riverside parking lot

Walking from Daejeon Station to Horse Taco Soje: exterior and terrace

The moment I got off at Daejeon Station, I headed for Soje-dong! Prettily decorated shops mixed with an old-town scene give Soje-dong that quiet, relaxed feel 🌳

Arrived at today's destination, Horse Taco 📍 About a 10–15 minute walk from Daejeon Station. The exterior really matches the Soje-dong vibe - !!

There's also a terrace, and I thought it would feel amazing to sit there on a nice day! The weather was perfect for it the day we went too, but there was a bug issue so … ^_^ Sadly we ended up going inside ㅜ.ㅜㅜ

(There's a cherry blossom tree in front of the shop and the whole street is a cherry blossom road, apparently a famous spot. I need to come back in spring 🌸)

A 20-minute wait: inside Horse Taco Soje and the seating

As expected for a Soje-dong hotspot, there was a wait. (We waited about 20 minutes.) ✔️ You can put your name on the remote waitlist via Catch Table, so I'd recommend doing that before you arrive!

The inside is full of Mexican vibes 🌵 The music, plus little props like hats scattered around, made it feel a lot more exotic than your typical taco place >.<

The vintage space that's so typical of Soje-dong somehow blends perfectly with the Mexican feel!

There was a good variety of seating too. Table seats and bar seats, so it looked good for a date, and also fine for a casual solo meal. With tables available, it seemed like a good spot for group gatherings too!

What comes in the Taco Set for two?

Since it was my first visit, I was trying to decide what to get, and I spotted a set with one of every kind of taco, so I ordered it without a second thought — the Taco Set (couple set)

Our set included 🌮 2 birria tacos 🌮 1 camaron taco 🌮 1 Soje mac taco 🌮 1 carnitas taco 🥑 nachos & salsa 🥤 2 zero-sugar colas

Each table comes with salt, hot sauce, disposable gloves, and wet wipes, so you can just use whatever you need! Eating tacos gets sauce everywhere, so having wet wipes on hand is really important .. ^.^ haha

There was even a guide on how to eat tacos deliciously

• 1. Hold your taco firmly
• 2. Raise the elbow holding the taco to 90 degrees
• 3. Tilt your head 45 degrees and enjoy

= Basically, forget about looking cute and cool, and just eat it up deliciously. Just Enjoy ^_____^ 👏

The full Taco Set spread at Horse Taco Soje

Finally, the food we ordered arrived — quite the spread once it's all laid out — the Taco Set (couple set)

From birria to shrimp, pork, and beef, it was a great lineup for tasting the difference between each type of taco.

Birria taco: how does it taste?

First up, the signature birria taco 🌮 I heard it's Horse Taco's representative menu item, so I tried it with high expectations

Squeezed some lime juice over it before eating — adding lime to a taco definitely makes the flavor fresher, right? The savory meat combined with the lime's brightness added a rich depth that really woke up my appetite ♥

I also tried dipping it in the basic sauce that comes with it. Adding the sauce changed the flavor way more than I expected ?! I couldn't tell which was better, both were just delicious .. 💦 You can pick whichever suits your taste.

I'm a spice lover so I added hot sauce right away!!! Adding a bit of heat always makes it taste better 🌶️ The rich meaty flavor of the birria mixed with the spiciness was really delicious.

Camaron (shrimp) taco — the favorite of the four

Next, the camaron taco 🌮 (my personal favorite ♥♥)

A shrimp taco, and the fried shrimp inside was genuinely delicious. Shrimp is already tasty on its own, and once fried, how could it not be great .. ? 🤤 Crispy outside, springy and bouncy inside — it went really well with the taco.

The camaron taco has an onion and spicy sauce base, so even with fried shrimp, it wasn't as heavy or greasy as I expected. Cilantro is a separate add-on option, and we added it? And honestly, the cilantro was the real kicker…

The savory fried shrimp, the crunch of onion, the spicy sauce, and the cilantro fragrance all came together and the flavor really came alive 🌿 ✔️ If you like cilantro, definitely add it in!!!

Take one bite and you can clearly see the plump shrimp inside. The fried shrimp had way more presence than I expected, and I loved that ♥

Carnitas taco

Next, the carnitas taco 🌮 A pork taco, apparently the textbook version of the tender pork taco that Koreans love most. It has a totally different meaty flavor from the shrimp-filled camaron, so it was fun trying each type!

There's a savory, clean flavor unique to pork that went really well with the taco. Eating each taco one by one, I could really tell how the mood changes depending on the type of meat.

Soje mac taco

And then, the Soje mac taco, which sounds very Soje-dong from the name alone 🌮 It's a taco with a house-made beef patty and various house-made sauces. It felt totally different from a typical Mexican taco, so I was excited 🤭

With the beef patty inside, it definitely had a more familiar meaty flavor, but combined with the taco's signature spices and sauce, it made for a unique combination.

I also tried the pickled chili-like topping that came with it. The meat itself can feel heavy, but eating it with this spicy-tangy topping felt like it reset my palate — I liked that ♥

Nachos & salsa

Also ate the nachos that came with the taco set. The crispy nachos were light, so they were great to snack on between tacos. A perfect side dish -!!

Nachos really taste best dipped in salsa sauce ♥ The combo of crispy nachos and tangy-spicy salsa kept me reaching for more haha 😛

Final verdict — who should visit Horse Taco Soje?

Overall I really liked Horse Taco for the combination of the Soje-dong atmosphere and Mexican vibe 🇲🇽 Personally, the camaron taco stood out most to me — the fried shrimp itself was delicious, and combined with the onion, spicy sauce, and cilantro, the whole thing came together so well !!! If you're near Daejeon Station or in Soje-dong looking for a date spot or a great Mexican restaurant, I highly recommend Horse Taco. ♥

That's the honest review after visiting in person!